Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 375, June 2015

Case No 2952 (Lebanon) - Complaint date: 28-MAY-12 - Follow-up

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 46. The Committee last examined this case concerning denial of trade union rights to employees in the public sector, obstacles raised to the establishment of independent trade unions in the private sector, and the Government’s refusal to promote an inclusive and constructive social dialogue at its March 2013 session [see 367th Report, paras 863–880]. On that occasion, the Committee requested the Government to: (a) keep it informed of progress in the ratification process of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87); (b) take the necessary measures without delay to lift the prohibition placed on public sector employees to establish and join organizations of their own choosing, and to allow them to exercise their trade union rights to the full; (c) state in what way workers who are excluded from the scope of the Labour Code (especially domestic workers, workers in the agricultural sector and contract workers in public administration) can enjoy their trade union rights and, if it is found that they cannot, to take all the necessary measures to secure these rights for them; (d) take the necessary steps to amend sections 86, 87, 89 and 105 of the Labour Code; and lastly, (e) specify which objective pre-established criteria enable it to determine which is the most representative organization, and if no such criteria exist, to take the necessary measures to define them, in full consultation with the social partners concerned.
2. 47. In a communication dated 28 October 2013, the Government indicates that: (1) on 12 June 2012, the Ministry of Labour submitted to Parliament a draft law to authorize ratification of Convention No. 87, in accordance with Council of Ministers Decision No. 81; (2) regarding the lifting of the prohibition for public sector employees to establish trade union organizations, a draft law amending the Staff Regulations (section 15 of Legislative Decree No. 112 of 12 June 1959 on prohibited forms of work) and approved by the Minister of Labour was submitted to Parliament. In the meantime, public sector employees engaged in trade union activity, including the right to strike and the stoppage of work, without the Government taking any action against them; (3) the Lebanese Labour Code guarantees employers and workers the right to establish trade unions, including in the agricultural sector (which furthermore comprises 43 trade unions and six workers’ groups) and domestic workers (for whom, however, no request to establish a trade union has been submitted), while contract workers in public administration enjoy the same treatment as public sector employees. Employees in all public bodies have the right to establish trade unions in the same way as the trade unions of employees of the Water Department or Electricité du Liban (EDL); (4) a draft law to amend the Labour Code, including sections 86, 87 and 89, is currently under consideration and the Committee’s recommendation on the matter will be sent to the Tripartite Laws and Methods Review Commission for it to be studied and, if possible, implemented; (5) no union official has ever been dismissed by the Government pursuant to section 105 of the Labour Code, but the Committee’s recommendation on this provision has been conveyed to the Tripartite Review Commission; and (6) with regard to trade union elections, the Ministry of Labour, as an external observer and on account in particular of the political and confessional divisions in Lebanon, is required to supervise union elections, without interfering in the electoral process, so as to ensure that all members have the right to vote in complete freedom and to prevent influential individuals from exerting pressure on trade union members during the elections, the results of which can, if necessary, be contested before the Ministry of Labour or the competent judicial authorities.
3. 48. The Government also indicates that Decree No. 2390 of 25 April 1992 (copy provided by the Government) defining and listing the most representative organizations of employers and workers deems the General Confederation of Lebanese Workers to be the most representative body of workers, since it brings together the majority of unions and trade union bodies.
4. 49. The Government finishes by stating that, in the area of collective bargaining, under the presidency of the Minister of Labour, a commission made up of representatives of all three social partners was established to promote regular dialogue between the social partners. It also emphasizes that under the Code on Collective Labour Agreements, Mediation and Arbitration, which governs collective bargaining, the prior authorization of the Ministry of Labour is not required for collective labour agreements to enter into force. Section 5 of this Code stipulates, inter alia, that the collective labour agreement should be submitted in three original copies, one of which is sent to the Ministry of Labour for the official record. The Ministry of Labour publishes the agreement in the Official Gazette within one month of the date on which it was submitted, failing which, the collective labour agreement enters into force at the end of this one-month period.
5. 50. The Committee takes note of the information provided by the Government. As regards the ratification of Convention No. 87, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of progress in the ratification process and reminds it that, to harmonize the national legislation with the provisions of the Convention, it can avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office.
6. 51. Noting the Government’s indication that: (1) a draft law amending the Staff Regulations (section 15 of Legislative Decree No. 112 of 12 June 1959) prohibiting public sector employees from establishing and joining trade union organizations has been submitted to Parliament; (2) a draft law to amend the Labour Code, particularly sections 86, 87 and 89, which grant the Government the power to authorize or to refuse the establishment of a trade union and approve the internal rules of trade unions, is under consideration by the Tripartite Laws and Methods Review Commission, which has received the Committee’s recommendations on these sections; and (3) the recommendations on section 105 of the Labour Code (which establishes that the Government has the right to dissolve any trade union committee that has failed to take account of the obligations imposed on it) have also been submitted to the Tripartite Review Commission. The Committee has high hopes that the legislative amendments to the Labour Code and the Staff Regulations shall be carried out in the near future to bring them into full conformity with the principles of freedom of association. The Committee requests the Government to send it a copy as soon as they are adopted.
7. 52. The Committee further notes that, according to the Government, the Labour Code guarantees employers and workers, including agricultural and domestic workers, the right to establish trade unions, and that various workers’ organizations in the agricultural sector have been registered in this way. Nevertheless, observing that domestic workers are still excluded from the scope of section 7 of the Labour Code, the Committee requests the Government to indicate the specific legislative regulations in force guaranteeing this category of workers their union rights, in particular that of establishing and joining organizations of their own choosing.
8. 53. With respect to the allegations of the Government’s interference in trade union elections, the Committee notes that the Government justifies its roles of supervising and observing the elections by the fact that the political and confessional divisions in Lebanon make it necessary to have an observer who is not part of the trade union to ensure that all members have the right to vote in complete freedom. In this regard, recalling that in cases of conflict it is crucial that the supervision of trade union elections should be entrusted to the competent judicial authorities or other independent persons, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the competent authorities guarantee this external supervision during union elections which require it.
9. 54. With regard to the matter of the most representative trade union, the Committee observes that after reading Decree No. 2390 of 25 April 1992, supplied by the Government, the decree merely lists the most representative organizations without specifying objective criteria for defining these organizations. The Committee therefore has no alternative but to reiterate its previous recommendation and requests the Government to specify which objective pre-established criteria enable it to determine which is the most representative organization, and if no such criteria exist, to take the necessary measures to define them, in full consultation with the social partners concerned. The Committee recalls that the Government can also avail itself of the technical assistance of the Office in this regard.
10. 55. Finally, the Committee welcomes the establishment under the presidency of the Ministry of Labour of a tripartite commission to promote regular dialogue between the social partners and notes with interest the Government’s indication that, under section 5 of the code on collective labour agreements, the entry into force of a collective agreement does not require the Government’s prior approval.